Saturday, August 31, 2019

Industrialization and the Rise of Big Business Essay

From the period of 1870 to 1900, the United States became one of the world’s strongest and growing industrial nations. An industrial revolution that had begun with the manufacture of cotton and woolen textiles had, by the beginning of the 20th, transformed the production of most everyday goods. Ranging from food, clothing, appliances, and automobiles, the enormous output of industrial production led to the rise of big business as it coordinated methods of distribution and sales to forge an infrastructure for consumer culture. The rise of corporations, such as Carnegie Steel, J.P. Morgan, and Standard Oil, in the late 1800’s, was able to dramatically shape the country politically, socially, and economically and even continues to do so today through new modern finance and monopolies. Industrial growth was mainly fueled by a surplus in resources, immigration and therefore cheap labor, and major technological advances that expanded the capabilities of various industries. As technological advances transformed production and distribution, a wave of inventions, including the typewriter, light bulb, and automobile led into new industries. Through this boom in business, leaders learned how to operate many different financial activities throughout the nation. Ultimately, they were able to become larger and the modern corporation was â€Å"born† into one of the most important roles in the future of business. These corporations seemed â€Å"new† for many people in the country, but corporations actually date back to the 16th and 17th centuries, where they were used by royalty and governments to organize exploration and possible colonization. Many businessmen and politicians had been suspicious of the corporation from the time it first emerged in the late 16th century. Unlike the partnership form of business, which dealt with a small amount of people on a personal level, the corporation separated ownership from management. In Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, he warns that because managers could not be trusted to steward â€Å"other people’s money†, â€Å"negligence and profusion† would eventually result when businesses organized as corporations. In 1811, New York became the first state that passed legislation concerning protocol and procedure for becoming a corporation, and other states eventually adapted this as well. Corporations were well suited to meet the demands of the Industrial Revolution, which generated a giant increase in business opportunities which, in hand, required massive amounts of money but â€Å"over the last 150 years the corporation has risen from relative obscurity to become the world’s dominant economic institution† (Bakan 5). â€Å"The genius of the corporation as a business form, and the reason for its remarkable rise over the last three centuries, was-and is-its capacity to combine the capital, and thus the economic power, of unlimited numbers of people† (Bakan 9). As corporations become more powerful and fuel development of large-scale industry, they affect politics. The men idolized by some and vilified by other, America’s 19th century Robber Barons were the true creators of the modern corporate era. The railroad was the first major monopoly in the United States. Since these railroads were massive undertakings, they required millions of dollars in capital investment. This was more than could be provided by relatively small group of wealthy men who invested in corporations at the turn of the century and the majority of the money was raised through the sales of stocks and bonds. With greed and corruption heavily present throughout the construction of the railroads, beginning in the 1890s, the corporation underwent a major transformation. The states of New Jersey and Delaware sought to attract valuable incorporation business to their jurisdictions by jettisoning unpopular restrictions from their corporate laws. In addition, they also repealed the rules that required businesses to incorporate only for defined purposes, to exist only for limited durations, and to only operate in certain locations. Another move consisted of loosening control on merger and acquisitions and they abolished the rule that one company could not own stock in another. Soon the rest of the country, not wanting to lose out in the competition for the incorporation business, soon followed their examples with revisions to their own laws. With flexible freedoms and powers now available, there was a large amount of incorporations by businesses. However, with all the constraints on mergers and acquisitions gone, it was only a matter of time before companies bought each other out. â€Å"1,800 corporations were consolidated into 157 between 1898 and 1904. In less than a decade the U.S. economy had been transformed from one in which individually owned enterprises competed freely among themselves into one dominated by a relatively few huge corporations, each owned by many shareholders† (Bakan 14). The era of corporate capitalism had begun with all those consolidations and mergers. With the economy dominated by a few huge corporations, we find ourselves looking at the development of monopolies, development the states started by limiting the set laws. With the growing capitalism pressuring politicians, a bizarre law was passed by the Supreme Court in 1886. â€Å"The courts had fully transformed the corporation into a â€Å"person†, complete with its own identity, separate from the actual people who were its owners and managers, like a real person, to conduct business in its own name, acquire assets, employ workers, pay taxes, and go to court. The logic of this law conceived if corporations were considered free individuals, or â€Å"persons†, corporations should be protected by the Fourteenth Amendment’s right to due process of law and equal protection of the laws, rights originally added to the constitution to protect freed slaves† (Hobsbawm 208). Trusts were becoming a problem after several years of abuse by major corporations. By the end of the 19th century, trusts used to crush competition and create monopolies throughout different industries had gotten to a point where the public demanded that there be something done. Congress ended up passing the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890. This Act has two main prov isions which apply to most of the corporations of the time. Every contract or agreement, in the form of a trust or not, or conspiracy to restraint trade in commerce is illegal and second, it would be illegal for anyone to monopolize, try to monopolize, or conspire to monopolize commerce. The Sherman Act was just the first of a series of laws aimed at controlling attempts by business firms to conspire and establish monopoly power in industry and commerce. Other acts followed when it became apparent that the Sherman Act had loopholes. Teddy Roosevelt was known as the â€Å"trust buster† because of his anti-monopoly views. Many large corporations had complete control of an entire industry and Roosevelt went in to these companies and helped to stop this type of monopoly, even managing to break up Northern Securities and J.P. Morgan. A big supporter of labor, he set up child protection laws, which were used to prevent children to work in factories and set up workman compensation, which is a payment that employers had to pay employees who ge t injured on the job. After the Great Depression occurred sometime around 1929 until the early 1940s, Roosevelt stepped in and called for Congress to help him pass his â€Å"New Deal†. â€Å"The â€Å"New Deal† was a package of regulatory reforms designed to restore economic health by, among other things, crushing the powers and freedoms of corporations† (Bakan 20). On March 9 Congress passed the Emergency Banking Act, which allowed the federal banks to be inspected. They also passed the Glass-Steagall Act, which had stringent rules for banks and provided insurance for depositors through the newly created Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Two more acts in 1933 and 1934, mandated specific regulations for the securities market, enforced by the new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Several bills provided mortgage relief for farmers and homeowners and offered loans for home purchasers through. Also, the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 gave federal protection in the bargaining process for workers and established a set of fair employment standards. The National Labor Relations Act guaranteed workers the right to organize and bargain through unions and the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, the last major program launched by Roosevelt specified maximum hours and minimum wages for most categories of workers. A monopoly is considered an economic situation in which only a single seller or producer supplies a commodity or a service. Economic monopolies have existed throughout most of history and in modern times we still deal with their continued threat. We usually encounter monopolies when giant business firms began to emerge and dominate the economy. Usually more than one firm in the same industry grows and dominates the market resulting in oligopoly, in which the market is dominated by a few firms. A modern example is Microsoft, which was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. In 1985, Microsoft released the Windows OS, an OS with the same features of MS- DOS just with a graphical user interface added for ease of use. Windows 2.0, released in 1987, improved performance and offered a new visual appearance. In 1990 Microsoft released a more powerful version, Windows 3.0. These versions, which came preinstalled on most new personal computers, becoming the most widely used operating systems in the industry at the time. In 1993 Apple lost a copyright-infringement lawsuit against Microsoft that claimed Window s illegally copied the design of the Macintosh’s operating system. In May 1998, the Justice Department and 20 states filed broad anti-trust suits charging Microsoft with engaging in â€Å"monopolistic† conduct. They wanted to force Microsoft to offer Windows without Internet Explorer or to include Navigator, a competing browser made by Netscape. In November 2001 Microsoft announced a settlement with the Justice Department and nine of the states. Key provisions included requiring Microsoft to reveal technical information about the Windows operating system to competitors so that software applications could be compatible with Windows, while also enabling personal computer manufacturers to hide icons for activating Microsoft software applications. A computer manufacturer could therefore remove access to Internet Explorer and enable another Internet browser to be displayed on the desktop. Corporations transformed the U.S. economy through breakthroughs in technology as well as new business practices and strategies. â€Å"The early Industrial Revolution not only changed manufacturing technically but also introduced a new organization of industry. These innovations followed from the new machinery but had advantages of their own. Together, these changes constitute its economic impact† (Stearns). Americans created giant enterprises. Businesses such as Standard Oil and Carnegie Steel brought together huge stocks of natural resources and unprecedented quantities of modern machinery to mass-produce goods for domestic and international markets. In meeting these demands, American entrepreneurs pioneered the development of modern business with its large-scale production and widespread markets, first by developing the railroad industry and then by creating industrial corporations. These railroads were massive undertakings, they required millions of dollars in capital investment. This was more than could be provided by relatively small group of wealthy men who invested in corporations at the turn of the century and the majority of the money was raised through the sales of stocks and bonds. â€Å"Everything the stock market is, and was, rooted in the basic idea of capitalism. Without that idea, stocks and bonds would never have come to be. Capitalism is an â€Å"economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned and development is proportionate to the accumulation and reinvestment of profits gained in a free market† (Hobsbawn 48). In the steel industry, Carnegie developed a system known as vertical integration. Carnegie bought his own iron and coal mines because using independent companies cost too much and was inefficient. Through this method he was able to charge less than any of his competitors. Unlike Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller integrated his oil business into horizontal. He followed one product through all its stages. Although, Carnegie inclined to be tough-fisted in business, he was not a monopolist and disliked monopolistic trusts. John D. Rockefeller came to dominate the oil industry. He created the first U.S. trust in 1882 by persuading the stockholders of the 40 companies associated with his to turn over their common stock to nine trustees in exchange for trust certificates. However, in 1911, the Supreme Court found that unlawful monopoly power existed in his company ordered him to dissolve it into smaller, competing companies. The development of trusts coincided with industrialization in the U.S. The trust movement was both a way to create large-scale business firms in this period and a downfall of the tremendous growth of industry. The success of the Standard Oil Company and U.S. Steel company was credited to the fact that their owners ran them with great authority. In this very competitive era, many new businesses were being formed and it took talented management to get ahead and have the companies running smoothly while making a great deal of money. As corporations expanded they affected the social outlook of the nation and brought social changes fueled by the Industrial Revolution. â€Å"In the wake of the twentieth- century merger movement, many Americans realized that corporations, now huge behemoths, threatened to overwhelm their social institutions and governments† (Bakan 17). Many people believed that corporate greed and mismanagement had caused the Great Depression. In response, business leaders embraced corporate social responsibility, believing that it was the best strategy to restore people’s faith in corporations. â€Å"New Capitalism† was the term that was used to describe the trend that softened corporations’ images with promises of good corporate citizenship and better working conditions. â€Å"By the end of WWI, some of America’s leading corporations, among them, General Electric, Eastman Kodak, National cash register, Standard Oil, and US Rubber, were busy crafting images of themselves as benevolent and socially responsible† (Bakan 18). As economic activities in many communities moved from agriculture to manufacturing, production shifted from its traditional locations in the home and the small workshop to larger and more capable factories. A great amount of the population relocated from the countryside to the towns and cities where manufacturing centers were found. The overall amount of goods and services produced expanded dramatically, and the proportion of capital invested per worker grew. Industrialization gradually changed the nature of human life for many people. For the first time in American history, more than half the country’s population lived in cities. In Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, he states that the most decisive mark of the prosperity of any country is the increase of the number of its inhabitants. On average, the population doubles in England and most other European countries around every 500 years. In America, the population doubles in about 25 years. With continued expansion of industrialization, America moves forward and advances with greater rapidity to the further acquisition of riches than any other countries. Key changes revolved around families as well, with work now farther from home, new specializations are required among some. While some women would be withdrawn from the formal labor force in order to supply domestic labor, and children were sent to school instead of being used in early industry. Outside the home, industrialization created new and unpleasant social divisions. The gap between the factory owners and the growing number of workers widened. New forms of protest, including strikes and political action developed alongside the advancement of industrialization. For years they had working long days on the farms, it’s the nature of the work that was biggest issue. Factory work tended to be monotonous and made work more dangerous. While on the farm, in the midst of the hard work, there was socializing and irregularity for the workers. Once in the shop, the workers had to deal with strict time schedules, and harsh working conditions. While wages were often low in the early years of industrialization, they ultimately improved, creating new opportunities for consumption. A small number of workers could also rise to become more highly skilled, even entering the ranks of supervisors. More substantial advancement, however, was rare. Most workers ultimately reduced their reliance on job satisfaction and sought shorter hours and higher pay instead. But life off the job did not necessarily improve rapidly. Working-class families might be tightly knit, but new tensions appeared. Many workers vented their frustrations on other family members and leisure life initially deteriorated with industrialization. Carnegie Steel, J.P. Morgan, and Standard Oil, are just some of the many corporations that rose in the late 1800’s, and were able to dramatically shape the country politically, socially, and economically and even continues to do so today. Without them, America would not be the world superpower that it currently is. The shift from and agricultural society into an industrial one may have been difficult for who lived during that era. However, by the turn of the century, industrialization had transformed commerce, business organization, the, the workplace, technology and general everyday life in America into something solid and positively profound. Now we face the challenge of deciding whether to leave the market to itself or to have the government regulate or control it. I believe that government control won’t amount to anything because of all the extra work needed. If the market was left to itself then corporations may take advantage of certain elements and monopolies may dominate the market. This best compromise would be for the government to regulate the market in a way that corporations are forced to do legitimate and legal business.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story Chapter 11~12

Chapter 11 Lather, Rinse, Repent The Animals were humming the wedding march when Tommy walked in the store. Tommy was rattled from the cab ride from Telegraph Hill. Evidently the cabdriver, who had a nervous tic and the habit of screaming, â€Å"The fuckers!† at indeterminate intervals and for no particular reason, felt that if you weren't going to top a hill without all four wheels leaving the ground and land in a shower of sparks, you might as well not top it at all, and, in fact, should avoid it by taking a corner on two wheels and crushing your passengers against the doors. Tommy was sweat-soaked and a little nauseated. â€Å"Here comes the bride,† Troy Lee said. â€Å"Fearless Leader,† Simon said, â€Å"you look like you just left a three-toweler.† Simon measured the success of any social event by the number of towels it took to clean up afterward. â€Å"Was a time in my life,† Simon would say, â€Å"when I only owned one towel and I never had any fun.† â€Å"You're not still pissed at me?† Tommy asked. â€Å"Hell, no,† Simon said. â€Å"I had me a three-toweler myself tonight. Took two choir girls from Our Lady of Perpetual Guilt out in the truck and taught them the fine art of slurping tadpoles.† â€Å"That's disgusting.† â€Å"No, it ain't. I didn't kiss 'em afterward.† Tommy shook his head. â€Å"Is the truck in?† â€Å"Only fourteen hundred cases,† Drew said. â€Å"You'll have plenty of time to plan the wedding.† He held out a stack of bride magazines to Tommy. â€Å"No, thanks,† Tommy said. Drew chucked the magazines behind him and held out a can of whipped cream with his other hand. â€Å"Take the edge off?† â€Å"No, thanks. Can you guys stack the truck? I've got some stuff I want to do.† â€Å"Sure enough,† Simon said. â€Å"Let's go do it.† The crew headed to the stockroom. Clint stayed behind. â€Å"Hey, Tommy,† he said, his head down, looking embarrassed. â€Å"Yeah?† â€Å"A pallet of kosher food came in tonight. You know, getting ready for Hanukkah and everything. And it's supposed to be blessed by a rabbi.† â€Å"Yeah. So?† â€Å"Well, I was wondering if I could say a few words over it. I mean, they're not washed in the Blood or anything, but Christ was Jewish. So†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Knock yourself out, Clint.† â€Å"Thanks,† Clint said. Taken with the Spirit, he scurried off to the stockroom. Tommy went to the news racks by the registers and gathered up an armload of women's magazines. Then, glancing over his shoulder to make sure that none of the Animals was watching, he took them into the office, locked the door, then sat down at the desk and began his research. He was about to move in with a woman for the first time, and he didn't know a thing about women. Maybe Jody wasn't crazy. Maybe they were all that way and he was just ignorant. He flipped quickly through the tables of contents to get an overview of the female mind. There was a pattern here. Cellulite, PMS, and men who don't commit were the enemies. Delightfully light desserts, marriage, and multiple orgasms were the allies. Tommy felt like a spy, as if he should be microfilming the pages under a gooseneck lamp in some back room of a Bavarian castle stronghold, and any minute some woman in SS gear would burst in on him and tell him that she had ways of making him talk. Actually, that last part wouldn't be too bad. Women seemed to have some collective plan, and most of it seemed to involve getting men to do stuff that they didn't want to do. He skimmed an article entitled: â€Å"Tan Lines: Sexy Contrast or Panda Bear Shame? – A Psychologist's View,† then flipped to one entitled: â€Å"Men's Love for Sports Analogies: How to Use Vince Lombardi to Make Him Put the Seat Down.† (â€Å"When one player falls in, the whole team gets a wet butt.†) He read on: â€Å"When it's fourth and ten and Joe Montana decides to go for it, would his linemen tell him that they won't go to the store to get him tampons? I don't think so.† And: â€Å"Of course Richard Petty doesn't want to wear a helmet, but he can't drive without protection either.† By the time Tommy got to the warnings about never using Wilt Chamberlain or Martina Navratilova as examples, he was completely disenchanted. How could you deal with a creature as devious as woman? He turned the page and his heart sank even further. â€Å"Can You Tell Him He's a Lousy Lay?: A Quiz.† Tommy thought, This is exactly the kind of thing that made me stay a virgin until I was eighteen. 1. It's the third date and you're about to have an intimate moment, but when he drops his shorts you notice he's less blessed than you expected. Do you: A: Point and laugh. B: Say, â€Å"Wow! A real man at last.† Then turn and snicker to yourself. C: Say, â€Å"Is that what they mean by microbiology?† D: Just go ahead with it. He might be shamed into making a commitment. And what do you care if all your sons are nicknamed Peewee? 2. You decide to do the dread deed, and just as things are starting to get hot he comes, rolls over, and asks, â€Å"Was it good for you?† You: A: Say, â€Å"God, yes! That was the best seventeen seconds of my life!† B: Say, â€Å"Sure, as good as it gets for me with a man.† C: Put a Certs in your navel and say, â€Å"That's for you, Mr. Bunnyman. You can have it on your way back up, after the job is finished.† D: Smile and throw his car keys out the window. 3. After fumbling in the dark, he thinks he's found the spot. When you tell him that's not it, he forges ahead anyway. You: A: Grab the lamp off the nightstand and beat him with it until he gets off you. B: Grab the lamp off the nightstand and beat him to death with it. C: Grab the lamp off the nightstand, turn it on, and say, â€Å"Would you look where you're at?† D: Wait patiently until he finishes, wishing the whole time that you had a lamp on your nightstand. The phone in the office rang. Tommy closed the magazine. â€Å"Marina Safeway.† â€Å"Tommy, is that you?† Jody asked. â€Å"Yeah, I have on my phone voice.† â€Å"Look, you're registered into room two-twelve at the Van Ness Motel – the corner of Chestnut and Van Ness. There's a key waiting for you in the office. The papers and keys for my car are on the bed. I left some papers for you to take to Transamerica and some money too. I'll meet you at the motel office a little after sunset.† â€Å"What room are you in?† â€Å"I don't think I should say.† â€Å"Why? I'm not going to come in and jump you or anything.† â€Å"It's not that. I just want things to be right.† He took a deep breath. â€Å"Jody?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Is there a lamp on the nightstand in your room?† â€Å"Sure, it's bolted down. Why?† â€Å"No reason,† Tommy said. Suddenly, from the back of the store, the Stones belted out  «Satisfaction » from a boom box cranked to distorted fuzz level. Tommy could hear the Animals chanting, â€Å"Kill the pig!† in the background. â€Å"I've got to go,† he said. â€Å"I'll see you tomorrow night.† â€Å"Okay. Tommy, I had a nice time tonight.† â€Å"Me too,† he said. He hung up and thought: She's evil. Evil, evil, evil. I want to see her naked. Jeff, the failed power forward, burst into the office. â€Å"The truck is stacked, dude. The ski boat is charged! We're talking luau in the produce aisle.† The Clark 250, self-propelled, professional floor-maintenance machine, is a miracle of janitorial design. Approximately the size of a small desk, the Clark 250 sports two rotating scrub disks at the front of the machine, as well as an onboard reservoir that distributes soap and water, and a squeegeed vacuum that sucks it up. It is propelled by two overpowered electric motors that will drive its gum-rubber tires over any flat surface, wet or dry. A single operator, walking behind the Clark 250, can, in less than an hour, scrub four thousand square feet of floor, and buff it to a shine in which he can see his soul, or so the brochure claims. What the brochure neglects to mention is that if the squeegee is retracted and the vacuum turned off, a single operator can slide along behind the Clark 250 on a river of soapy froth. The Animals called the machine the ski boat. When Tommy came around the corner of aisle 14, he saw Simon, shirtless, wearing his cowboy hat, cooking weenies over thirty cans of Sterno on a stainless-steel rack that normally was used to display potato chips. â€Å"I love the smell of napalm in the morning,† Simon said, waving a barbecue fork. â€Å"It smells like victory.† â€Å"Cowabunga!† Drew screamed. He was sliding through two inches of soapsuds behind the ski boat, towing Lash toward a makeshift ramp by a length of clothesline. Lash hit the ramp, went airborne, and flipped in the air with a battle cry of â€Å"Workman's Comp!† Tommy stepped aside as Lash landed on his chest and plowed a drift of suds with his face. Drew powered down the boat. â€Å"Eight-two,† Barry shouted. â€Å"Nine-one,† said Clint. â€Å"Nine-six,† said Drew. â€Å"Quatro-uno,† said Gustavo. â€Å"A four-one from the Mexican judge,† Simon said into his barbecue-fork microphone. â€Å"That's got to hurt his chances for getting into the finals, Bob.† Lash spit out a mouthful of soap and coughed. â€Å"The Mexican judges are always tough,† he said. He wore a beard of suds that made him look like a thin, wet version of Uncle Remus. Tommy helped Lash to his feet. â€Å"Are you okay?† â€Å"He's fine,† Simon said. â€Å"His personal trainer is here.† Simon grabbed a coconut off the shelf and lopped the top off with a huge knife from the meat department. â€Å"Dr. Drew,† he said, holding the coconut out to Drew, who took a pint of rum from his hip pocket and splashed some in the shell. â€Å"Down this,† Simon said, handing the coconut to Lash. â€Å"Kill the pig, partner.† The Animals chanted â€Å"Kill the pig† until Lash had downed the whole drink, coconut milk and rum washing streams though his beard of suds at the corners of his mouth. He stopped to breathe and threw up. â€Å"Nine-two!† Barry shouted. â€Å"Nine-four,† Drew said. â€Å"Six-one,† Simon drawled. â€Å"Penalty points for chunks.† â€Å"Fuego,† Gustavo said. Simon jumped in Gustavo's face. â€Å"Fuego? What fucking number is Fuego? You can be disqualified as a judge, you know?† â€Å"Fuego,† Gustavo said, pointing over Simon's shoulder to the chip rack, where three dozen weenies had burst into flames and were spewing black smoke. The smoke alarm went off with a Klaxon scream, drowning out the Rolling Stones. â€Å"It rings into the fire department,† Drew shouted in Tommy's ear. â€Å"They'll be at the door in a minute. It's your job to head them off, Fearless Leader.† â€Å"Me? Why me?† â€Å"That's why you make the big bucks.† â€Å"Kill that stereo and put out the fire,† Tommy yelled. He turned and was heading for the front door just as Clint came out of the stockroom. â€Å"The kosher stuff is all blessed, and I prayed over some of the gentile food for good measure. You know, Tom, the guys said that you might be getting married, and I'm getting my minister card in the mail soon, so if you need – â€Å" â€Å"Clint,† Tommy interrupted, â€Å"clean-up in the produce aisle.† He went to the front door, unlocked it, and went outside to wait for the fire department. The bay was socked in with fog and the beam from the lighthouse on Alcatraz cut a swath across Fort Mason and the Safeway parking lot. Tommy thought he could make out the figure of someone standing under one of the mercury lights. Someone thin, dressed in dark clothing. A fire truck pulled into the parking lot, siren off, its flashing red lights cutting the fog. As the fire truck's headlights swept across the lot, the dark figure dodged and ran, staying just ahead of the lights. Tommy had never seen anyone run that fast. The thin guy seemed to cover a hundred yards in only a few seconds. A trick of the fog, Tommy thought. Chapter 12 Fashionably Doomed There were five police cars parked at the Van Ness Motel when Tommy got off the bus across the street. He thought: They've come to get me for turning in a false alarm to the fire department. Then he realized that only Jody knew that he was coming to the motel. Pity, he thought, I would have gotten a lot of writing done in prison. He crossed the street and was met at the office door by a uniformed police woman. â€Å"Crime scene, sir. Move along unless registered.† â€Å"Am registered. Need shower,† Tommy said. He'd learned his lesson about saying too much when he had talked to the angry fireman at the store. They didn't want to hear why it happened, they just wanted to be sure that it didn't happen again. â€Å"Name?† the cop said. â€Å"C. Thomas Flood.† â€Å"ID?† Tommy handed her his Indiana driver's license. â€Å"Says ‘Thomas Flood, Junior. No ‘C. ; † ‘C' is pen name. Thomas is writer,† Tommy said. The cop adjusted her baton. â€Å"Are you trying to give me a hard time?† â€Å"No, I just thought you wanted to talk that way. What's going on?† Tommy looked over the cop's shoulder at the motel manager, a tall, balding guy in his forties who was wiping fingerprints off his bulletproof window with a towel, looking as if he was going to start crying any minute. â€Å"Were you in the motel last night, Mr. Flood?† â€Å"No, I just got off work at the Marina Safeway. I'm night-crew leader there.† â€Å"You live in the City then?† The cop raised an eyebrow. â€Å"I've just been here a few days. I'm still looking for a place.† â€Å"Where can we reach you if the detectives need to talk to you?† â€Å"At the store from midnight to eight. But I'm off tonight. I guess I'll be here. What's going on?† The cop turned to the motel manager. â€Å"You have a C. Thomas Flood registered?† The manager nodded and held up a key. â€Å"Room two-twelve,† he said. The cop gave Tommy back his license. â€Å"Get that changed if you're going to stay in the City. You can go to your room, but don't cross any of the yellow tape.† The cop walked out of the office. Tommy turned to the manager. â€Å"What's going on here?† The manager motioned for Tommy to come closer to the window. The manager bent over and whispered through his talk hole: â€Å"The maids found a woman's body in the dumpster this morning – a woman from the neighborhood, not a guest.† â€Å"Murdered?† Tommy whispered. â€Å"Her and her poodle. This looks horrible for the motel. The police are talking to all of the guests as they check out. They knocked on your friend's door, but she didn't answer.† The manager passed Tommy's key through the slot, along with a business card. â€Å"They want her to call the detective at that number when she gets in. Would you give it to her?† â€Å"Sure,† Tommy said. He took the key and stood there trying to think of something to say to relieve the manager's anxiety. â€Å"Uh, sorry about your dumpster,† he said. It didn't work. The manager burst into tears. â€Å"That poor little dog,† he sobbed. On the bed were a stack of official-looking papers, a map of San Francisco, and a thick envelope filled with cash. There was a note clipped to the papers. It said: Dear Tommy, Here's the stuff to get my Honda out of impound. Use some of this cash to pay the fines. I don't know where the impound lot is, but you can ask any policeman. You will have to go to the Transamerica Building to get my last check. (I marked it on the map.) I've left a message on the personnel department's voice mail that you are coming. Good luck finding an apartment. I forgot to mention that you want to avoid getting a place in the Tenderloin (also on map). Sorry I'm being so mysterious. I'll explain everything tonight. Love, Jody Why in the hell was she being so mysterious? He opened the envelope and took out a stack of hundred-dollar bills, counted them, then put them back in the envelope. Four thousand dollars. He had never seen that much money in one place. Where did she get that kind of money? Certainly not filling out claims at an insurance company. Maybe she was a drug dealer. A smuggler. Maybe she embezzled it. Maybe it was all a trap. Maybe when he got to the impound lot to pick up her car, the police would arrest him. She had a lot of nerve signing her note â€Å"Love.† What would the next one say? â€Å"Sorry you have to do hard time in the big house for me. Love, Jody.† But she did sign it that way: â€Å"Love.† What did that mean? Did she mean it, or was it habit? She probably signed all of her letters with â€Å"Love.† Dear Insured, We are sorry but your policy will not pay for your barium enema as it was done for recreational purposes. Love, Jody. Claims Dept†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Maybe not. Maybe she did love him. She must trust him, she had given him four grand. He shoved the money in his back pocket, picked up the papers, and left the room. He ran down the steps to the ground level and tripped over a large black plastic bag full of dead woman. A coroner's deputy caught him by the arm before he fell. â€Å"Easy there, fella,† the deputy said. He was a big, hairy guy in his thirties. â€Å"I'm sorry.† â€Å"It's okay, kid. She's sealed for freshness. My partner went to get the gurney.† Tommy stared at the black bag. He'd only seen one dead person in his life, his grandfather. He hadn't liked it. â€Å"How did it†¦ I mean, was it murder?† â€Å"I'm betting creative suicide. She broke her own neck, drained out her blood, then killed the dog and jumped into the dumpster. The ME's betting murder, though. You pick.† Tommy was horrified. â€Å"Her blood was drained?† â€Å"Are you a reporter?† â€Å"Nope.† â€Å"Yeah, she was about a gallon low, and no visible wounds. The ME had to go into the heart for a blood sample. He was not pleased. He likes things simple – decapitation by cable car, massive gunshot trauma – you know.† Tommy shuddered. â€Å"I'm from Indiana. Stuff like this doesn't happen there.† â€Å"Stuff like this doesn't happen here either, kid.† A tall, thin guy in coroner blues came around the corner pushing a gurney with a small, gray, dead dog on it. He picked up the dog by a rhinestone leash. â€Å"What do I do with this?† he asked the big hairy guy. The dog spun slowly at the end of the leash like a fuzzy Christmas ornament. â€Å"Bag and tag it?† said Big Hairy. â€Å"A dog? That's a new one on me.† â€Å"I don't give a shit. Do what you want.† â€Å"Well,† Tommy interrupted, â€Å"you guys have a good day.† He hurried away to the bus stop. As the bus pulled up he looked back and saw the two coroners tucking the little dog into the woman's body bag. Tommy got off the bus at a coffeehouse near Chinatown where he had seen guys in berets scribbling in notebooks and smoking French cigarettes. If you were looking for a place to sit and stare into the abyss for a while, always look for guys in berets smoking French cigarettes. They were like road signs: â€Å"Existential Crisis, Next Right.† And the incident with the body bag had put Tommy in the mood to contemplate the meaninglessness of life for a few minutes before he started hunting for an apartment. They had treated that poor woman like a piece of meat. People should have been crying and fainting and fighting over her will. It must be some sort of protection mechanism, more of that ability that city people had for ignoring suffering. He ordered a double mocha at the counter. A girl with magenta hair and three nose rings frothed it up while Tommy searched though a stack of used newspapers on the counter, separating the classified sections. When he paid the girl she caught him staring at her nose rings and smiled. â€Å"Thought is death,† she said, handing him the mocha. â€Å"Have a nice day,† Tommy said. He sat down and began flipping though the classifieds. As he read through the apartments for rent, the money in his pocket seemed to shrink. Here was the reason why people seemed so distracted. They were all worrying about making rent. An ad for a furnished loft caught his eye. He was a loft kind of guy. He imagined himself saying, â€Å"No, I can't hang around, I've got to get back to the loft and write.† And, â€Å"Sorry, I left my wallet in the loft.† And writing, â€Å"Dear Mom, I've moved into a spacious loft in fashionable SOMA.† Tommy put the paper down and turned to a beret guy at the next table who was reading a volume of Baudelaire and building up a drift of Disc Bleu butts in the ashtray. â€Å"Excuse me,† Tommy said, â€Å"but I'm new in town. Where would I find fashionable SOMA?† The beret guy looked irritated. â€Å"South of Market,† he said. Then he picked up his book and cigarettes and walked out of the cafe. â€Å"Sorry,† Tommy called after him. Maybe if I had asked him in French†¦ Tommy unfolded the map Jody had left him and found Market Street, then a neighborhood marked â€Å"SOMA.† It wasn't far from where Jody had marked the Transamerica Pyramid. He folded up the map and tore the loft ad out of the classifieds. This was going to be easy. As he prepared to leave, he looked up to see an enormously fat man in a purple velvet robe enter the cafe carrying a leather sample case decorated with silver moons and stars. He sat at a table near Tommy, his bulk spilling over either side of the cane chair, and began removing things from the sample case. Tommy was captivated. The fat man's head was shaved and there was a pentagram tattooed on his scalp. He covered his table with a piece of black satin, then placed a crystal ball on a pedestal of brass dragons in the center. Next he unwrapped a deck of tarot cards from a purple silk scarf and placed them by the crystal ball. Last he removed a sign from the sample case and set it up on the table. It read: â€Å"Madame Natasha. Palmistry, Tarot, Divination. Psychic Readings $5.00. All proceeds go to AIDS research.† Madame Natasha was sitting with his back to Tommy. As Tommy stared at the pentagram tattoo, Madame Natasha turned to him. Tommy looked away quickly. â€Å"I think you need a reading, young man,† Madame Natasha said, his voice high and feminine. Tommy cleared his throat. â€Å"I don't believe in that stuff. Thanks, though.† Madame Natasha closed his eyes as if he were listening to a particularly moving passage of music. When he opened them again he said, â€Å"You're new to the City. A little confused and a little scared. You're an artist of some kind, but you don't make your living that way. And you've recently turned down a proposal of marriage. Am I right?† Tommy dug into his pocket, â€Å"Five dollars?† â€Å"Have a seat,† Madame Natasha said, waving him to a seat at his table. Tommy moved to the seat across from Madame and handed him a five-dollar bill. Madame Natasha picked up his tarot cards and began shuffling. His hands were tiny and delicate; his nails painted black. â€Å"What shall we ask the cards today?† Madame said. â€Å"I've met this girl. I want to know more about her.† Madame Natasha nodded solemnly and began laying the cards out on the table. â€Å"I don't see a woman in your near future.† â€Å"Really?† Madame pointed to a card on the right of the pattern he had laid out. â€Å"No. You see the position of this card? This card rules your relationships.† â€Å"It says ‘Death. ; â€Å"That does not necessarily mean physical death. The Death card can be a card of renewal, signifying a change. I would say that you recently broke up with someone.† â€Å"Nope,† Tommy said. He stared at the stylized picture of the skeleton with the scythe. It seemed to be laughing at him. â€Å"Let's try again,† Madame Natasha said. He gathered the cards, shuffled them, and began laying them out again. Tommy watched the spot where his relationship card would fall. Madame paused, then turned the card. Death. â€Å"Well, well, what a co-in-kee-dink,† Madame Natasha said. â€Å"Try again,† Tommy said. Again Madame shuffled, and again, when he laid down the relationship card, it was Death. â€Å"What does it mean?† Tommy asked. â€Å"It could mean a lot of things, depending on your other suits.† Madame waved to the other cards in the pattern. â€Å"Then what does it mean with the other cards?† â€Å"Honestly?† â€Å"Of course. I want to know.† â€Å"You're fucked.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"As far as relationships?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"You're fucked.† â€Å"What about my writing career?† Madame Natasha consulted the cards again, then, without looking up, said, â€Å"Fucked.† â€Å"I am not. I'm not fucked.† â€Å"Yep. Fucked. It's in the cards. Sorry.† â€Å"I don't believe in this stuff,† Tommy said. â€Å"Nevertheless,† Madame Natasha said. Tommy stood up. â€Å"I have to go find an apartment.† â€Å"Do you want to consult the cards about your new home?† â€Å"No. I don't believe the cards.† â€Å"I could read your palm.† â€Å"Will it cost extra?† â€Å"No, it's included.† â€Å"Okay.† Tommy held out his hand and Madame Natasha cradled it delicately. Tommy looked around to see if anyone was looking, tapped his foot as if he was in a hurry. â€Å"Goodness, you masturbate a lot, don't you?† A guy at a nearby table spit coffee all over his paperback Sartre and looked over. Tommy pulled his hand away. â€Å"No!† â€Å"Now, now, don't lie. Madame Natasha knows.† â€Å"What's that got to do with an apartment?† â€Å"Just checking my accuracy. It's like zeroing out a polygraph.† â€Å"Not a lot,† Tommy said. â€Å"Then I'll have to adjust my reading. I would have rated you a wankmaster of the first degree. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Considering your relationship card, I'd say it's your only option.† â€Å"Well, you're wrong.† â€Å"As you wish. Let me see your palm again.† Tommy surrendered his palm reluctantly. â€Å"Oh, good news at last,† Madame Natasha said. â€Å"You will find an apartment.† â€Å"Good,† Tommy said, pulling his hand back again. â€Å"I've got to go.† â€Å"Don't you want to know about the rats?† â€Å"No.† Tommy turned and headed toward the door. As he reached it he turned and said, â€Å"I'm not fucked.† The Sartre reader looked up from his book and said, â€Å"We all are. We all are.†

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Argumentive Essay on Age Differences in Relationships

There is a  funny thing about  love. And that is the fact you never tell as to whom your mate will be. Regardless of how long the relationship may be, we never know who out there will be the one we call our mate. You may have similar interests, backgrounds or have the same  sense of humor, but through it all one question sticks out among many folks out in the world today. Does age have a bearing on whether or not to enter a relationship? Some feel that you will eventually fall in love with someone half your age but the thing is how can you tell?And is that a deciding factor in getting in a relationship? Many are opposed to this as they feel the gap could cause a great deal of issues within the relationship itself. There are many different opinions about whether age factors play a huge role in a relationship. Some people say it does not matter and others say it is everything. Some people are like me, sort of in the middle. Age is just a number, or is it? One might think that if a man has been alive for forty five years, than he should possess be somewhat mature as far being experienced in relationships.Well in some cases, while the forty year-old may be experienced, when it comes to being mature he may not be all the way there. While a person may have experienced a lot of different things in their life, it does not necessarily mean that they have learned from them. It is a sad fact that some people just never grow up. This may be fortunate or unfortunate depending on how you look at it. However, it is a fact of life. If you date this kind of person you are more than likely in for a rocky relationship Maturity is more a matter of personality than age.According to journalist Vidhi Agrawal, the question of age and relationships is really difficult to answer, especially when the Cupid’s arrow strikes and you fall in love with a person who is 10 years your senior or 15 years younger to you. In historic times, it was common for a man of 30 or 40 years to marry a teenage girl. Then came the period where the difference ranged between two and seven years, with the man being older. Back then there was a simple logic was simple:  the man would be the bread winner while the wife would provide babies. (Agrawal, 2012) In my opinion, I feel that age does matter in relationships.While, it’s not the most important factor it does play a key role in whether or not the relationship sustains a lengthy period or it’s just a seasonal fling. There are issues that need to be considered with relationships that have a noticeable difference in age. These issues are not insurmountable, yet they are obstacles that must be considered and dealt with if the relationship is going to be successful and meaningful to both parties. I feel this way because in these days in time relationships are like the wind. Everyday it seems like most couples break up as fast as they fall in love.While numerous married couples who differ in age now ended up marri ed, they also end up having a divorce due to either: financial problems, fights, or cheating spouses so spending a long time growing old together seem impossible in this day and age. Most relationships today only start with physical attraction or infatuation like magnets but we all know that we are people so we will have desires and attractions to the opposite (or same sex). Choosing someone that is right for the age is probably a suitable solution to lessen breaking hearts and emotional distress. Another reason I feel that age matters is because people nowadays create labels.When a young man or woman dates an older man or woman he/she is commonly called â€Å"cougar†, on the other hand, when an old man or woman dates younger ones he/she is commonly called a â€Å"pedophile†. These two labels doesn’t apply to people who dates 1 year to 4 years older or younger, it only applies to people who are really old like five to ten years age gap. Also in some cultures, ag e gap are still approved when the parents of two persons are close friends and they talk about the future of their children and starting to pre-arrange their son and daughter’s marriage when both parents know that they are at the right age. Marsh, 2010) In addition, we define our goals, experiences and milestones in life by age. For example, by 21, most people will be a graduate, will have worked for five years and then completed a MBA by 28 and started their own company. Marry and settled with kids by 32, work hard for the next 15 years and then begin retirement planning. See, this is how the average person generally planned their life. So when an older man marries a woman much younger to him, there can be conflicts over preferences and goals.She will want to be go out more and engage in active pursuits while he will have that, â€Å"been there, done that† feeling/attitude and may not participate eagerly. Similarly, the balance of power and dominance would always be o n the side of the older spouse because he/she is more matured, wise and experienced. To them, younger spouses’ need for indulgence may appear histrionics and attention-seeking behavior. The difference in age could also deepen with time after many years with the partner, thus causing problems.At first, they have a lot of common interests but after many years somewhere between 5 and10 years, while one of them is getting old, the other one is still young in body and spirit. Because of this it would be hard to cope with and keep up with one another because they have simply grown apart. This may lead to break ups. Also, an age gap can have an influence on a relationship by the fact it could lead to three main problems which are the sickness and health, different opinions and the child issue. Sometimes the age gap could be very embarrassing.For example, when a couple goes out to do shopping to buy clothes and things for them and their children and suddenly the sales assistant talks to the woman/man and tells him/her is that person your daddy/mommy?. That would be very embarrassing and not acceptable even though the person does not mean what he says because in the first place he does not know that this person is her husband. The embarrassment that comes from such relationships with age difference makes the younger partner thinking about why he is putting him/herself in such situation, while he could be with person who looks exactly like his age without any embarrassments.This makes lots of marriages fail. Therefore, having healthy relationship without age gap will tackle this problem and makes the couples live happily without embarrassments forever. (Twoface, 2009) An example for these kinds of relationships is that of Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher. The recently divorced couple was married with an age gap of thirteen years (Demi being around forty and Ashton being around twenty-seven). In these age gap relationships, there were real differences in their intere st in physical activities that eventually resulted to the divorce.While many feel like I feel on this subject, there are those who differ with me on this issue. While many feel age will play a deciding factor in a potential break-up, on the contrary, you have those who feel age does not matter in a relationship because in most cases they want someone to match their level of maturity, having a strong commitment to each other, and having someone serious to talk in a personal way. You have those who feel they have either outgrown their age range or are just mature for their age (whether it’s due to circumstances or surroundings) so they seek companionship with mates older than they are.You have those who feel as long as both are mature and are making their own choices than age should not really matter. Another factor one will state in the case of age matters is that the younger person would benefit from the older person's wisdom and experience and the older person feels as if he has been given new life by the ego boost they get from having someone so young finding them attractive. With that the relationships would be based on only having benefits from each other. These kinds of relationships that based on having benefits from each other have never worked before and will never work (Vilbert & Lloyd, 2010).In conclusion, age does really matter in a relationship in some degree and that’s based on whether the two individuals can handle their relationship with a sense of responsibility and commitment based on their level of maturity in sharing their personal outlooks and goals from their life experiences. (Realsexfacts, 2006) Age gap relationships will always be frowned upon mainly due to their abnormality. Most people would look at a 50 year old and a 25 year old together and think â€Å"that's just  not  right†. I would say for the most part age does matter in a relationship.While you do not want the age gap to be too significant due to prac tical reasons like how long the person might have until they die or at what age they will stop having sex and procreating. Also, lifestyle and cultural differences might emerge if there is a significant age difference. There will in most cases be a lot of protests from friends and family, so opt for something like this only when you are ready to stand against them. This in turn depends upon whether you are sure about what exists between the two of you and its all that you really want in life. This is not to say that there are no exceptions.Those are always out there and I guess you should get to know your partner well and know what you are getting into before taking any chances with your life. Follow your gut. The heart wants what the heart wants in the end. It does not matter how ridiculous it may look to other people. References (2006). Relationships and Age Difference. Realsexfacts. com. Retrieved 10 March, 2013 from: http://www. realsexedfacts. com/relationships-age-difference. html Agrawal, V. (2012). Age Factor in Marriage and Relationships. BollywoodShaddis. com Retrieved 10 March 2013 from: http://www. bollywoodshaadis. om/article/lifestyle–health/relationships/age-factor-in-marriage-and-relationships Marsh, T. (2009). Does Age Really Matter In Relationships?. Love, Life and Relationships: Terrymarshworld. blogspot. Retrieved 10 March, 2013 from: http://www. terrymarshworld. blogspot. com/2010/03/does-age-really-matter-in-a-relationship. html Twoface. (2009). Does Age Matter. Socyberty. Retrieved 10 March 2013 from: http://socyberty. com/relationships/does-age-matter-age-gap-relationships/ Vilbert, D & Lloyd, A (2010). Does A Big Age Difference Doom A Relationship?. Living. MSN. Retrieved 10 March 2013 from: http://living. msn. com/love-relationships

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Decorative Arts of Saudi Cultural Heritage Research Proposal

Decorative Arts of Saudi Cultural Heritage - Research Proposal Example The need for effectiveness in planning, space utilization as well as functional architectural design promoted the advancements of interior design. For instance, Majilis paintings have represented an aspect of interior design practiced by Saudi people from Asir province. The decorative arts embraced by interior designers of both residential and commercial specialties reveal the connection between the historic nomadic life and the art of interior design practiced by Saudi Arabians. There are two outstanding significances of the art of interior design among the people of Saudi Arabia and especially the Majilis of Asir province. As mentioned earlier, art was a very effective way of expressing a community’s lifestyle. The Majlis who were nomads expressed their way of living through the art of interior design and presented a great way to connect among themselves and give them an identity. The second significance of art among the Majilis of Asir province is that it was a great way of passing on their culture and traditions from one generation to another. All through the earlier centuries, the Majilis had built a heritage that incorporated their customs and values that united them together as a people. Each province in historic Saudi Arabia had its own form of art that was highly distinguishable from that of a different province. Basing on the quality of the paintings and interior design, one could tell how wealthy a family or a community was. It was a great way of giving identity to a community. In the present days, traditional art is at a risk of fading away as it lacks acceptance and much-needed appreciation among the present day and contemporary artist. This is especially so in the art of interior design. The art of interior design is a practice that dates back to the early historical period and has been carried forward by artists to the recent historic period.

To what extent, if at all, might hegel be described as a communitarian Essay

To what extent, if at all, might hegel be described as a communitarian - Essay Example Undoubtedly, he is one of the greatest photospheres the world has ever seen and he has been credited with many achievements of which the most prominent one is the addition of a historical perspective to philosophy. He also was the first philosopher to understand the importance of ‘the other’ in relation to fully understanding the self. However, it is his writings on civil society, individualism and government which have to be discussed in order to understand if he was a communitarian and if he was, to what extent he agreed with the idea of being a communitarian. Of course to understand Hegel as a communitarian we must first discuss what being a communitarian is about and what communitarianism entails. Fundamentally, communitarianism is a set of connected philosophical ideas which started to take form as a system in the modernist era as an opposing force to the ideals of radical individualism (Chong, 2006). It advocates the idea of having a civil society which works as a unit where the community takes precedence over the individual (Wikipedia, 2006). Communitarianism is not directly opposed to the concepts of social liberalism or social democracy since the focus of the philosophy remains on the priority in decision making which is given to the community rather than the individual (Franco, 1997). However, as described by Franco (1997) it remains very difficult to place Hegel as a communitarian if we only use labels and not understand what Hegel was trying to get across to us. Franco further suggests that: â€Å"Hegel provides us with a ‘middle ground’ between deontological liberalism and contemporary communitarianism. Like the modern communitarians, he is critical of the individualistic and historical conceptions of rights underlying the liberal polity, but like many liberals in both his day and ours, he is skeptical of any attempt to return to some form of democratic participatory gemeinschaft based upon immediate face-to-face relations (Franco, 1997,

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Integrated case study of Orion company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 9000 words

Integrated case study of Orion company - Essay Example According to Ahlstrom and Bruton (2009) businesses today are focused on international competition and opportunities afforded by globalization. It is further mentioned that competition has increased greatly during the past two decades due to globalization and the energizing forces of technological changes and major financial innovation. Management in modern environment, where tastes, likes and dislikes changes every minute, is an herculean task as it requires the leaders to create and develop an effective strategy that could withstand the consumer demand, product innovation, effective human resource management, employee retention and motivation, consumer relationship, marketing, etc. Similarly, international business management requires formulating strategy that addresses all the issues hitherto mentioned, but also addresses issues pertaining to organizational culture because they may be working in a different setup with people of different culture, political, legal, environmental con cerns and socio economic issues. Phatak (2006) states that the need for international management arises with a firm’s initial involvement in international operations by way of exports of its products, technology, or services to foreign markets. Orion Food Industries produces a range of ready prepared meals for local market and distribution within West and East Malaysia has achieved national coverage with retail sale made direct to supermarket in major population centres. Further export markets also booming and according to British Press, curry has replaced fish and chips as the number one food of choice in Europe. Assuming this as the greatest opportunity for Orion Foods and to seize the available opportunity, this report aims to provide the strengths and weaknesses of Orion Foods in regard to International Business expansion in European in terms of human resource, culture, management, market structure, and

Monday, August 26, 2019

All forms of abortion should be illegal in the U.S Essay

All forms of abortion should be illegal in the U.S - Essay Example This discussion exposes these untruths that have been reported and are widely perceived as facts. It also explains the framers’ intent for the legal and moral direction of American society when they drafted the Constitution, the document that defines the laws of the nation. There is little freedom of choice for women who are experiencing an unwanted pregnancy. The women themselves usually wish to bring their baby to full term. Other powerful influences in her life such as husbands/boyfriends, parents and friends are generally the forces that exact pressures on her to terminate the pregnancy. â€Å"Eight out of 10 women surveyed after abortion said they would have given birth if they’d had support and encouragement from family and friends† (Reardon, 2002). It’s the abortion that, in many cases, is unwanted by the woman, not the baby. Most often, the father of the child, not wishing to accept responsibility, may beg or even threaten a woman until she agrees to the abortion. â€Å"In 95 percent of all cases the male partner played a central role in the decision† (Zimmerman, 1977). This and other studies have illustrated clearly that most women decide against their own conscience. Legal abortion enables fathers to force their will on mothers. Some women resort to abortion in desperation because they fear continued abuse. That fear is substantiated as women who refuse to abort have been subjected to serious abuses which have escalated to murder if the women still persists in her refusal. Murder is the leading cause of death for pregnant women and for what other motive could there be? â€Å"Sixty-four percent of women surveyed report being pressured by others into unwanted abortions† (Reardon, 1992).   Ã‚  Immediately following an abortion, the one(s) coercing the decision are relieved and seldom, if ever, give the inconvenient issue another thought. Women, on the other

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Jury Selection Process Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jury Selection Process - Research Paper Example The jury selection was interesting in the sense that it had 9 blacks, 1 Hispanic and 2 Whites in it, a total of 12 jury participants – 10 women and 2 men. Their education is divided; 9 were high school graduates, 2 College Graduates and one was without diploma. The jury sequestration is a highly complicated matter and requires considerable attention of the selecting bodies. For instance, the cost to tax payers for the jury sequestration in the O. J. Simpson trial reached a staggering $3 million (Dunham, 2009). The process followed for the sequestration included a questionnaire to be filled in by 250 potential members of the jury (Linders, 2008). They were also told at the time of filling in the questionnaire that they will be probably sequestered for a period of several months. Once the jury sequestration was completed, the media became the real critic of the sequestration. The court had to bear the cost of it all, court premise security as well as the security of the jury is part of the sequestration. Media constantly questioned the fairness and objectivity highlighting the fact the jury was held in a near imprisonment (Hayslett, 2008). In 1995, the jury let out the verdict while the court was surrounded by an army of policemen on horsebacks, to prevent a possible riot in the aftermath of the verdict. The jury recorded the verdict in favour of the former footballer, O. J. Simpson, as â€Å"not guilty†. The verdict may have been tainted by the involvement of the main prosecutor Fuhrman, who allegedly harboured hate feelings towards the African-Americans, and had been heard to call them ‘niggers’ on many occasions. The main reason why the jury called it â€Å"not guilty† was there was reasonable doubt as to the presence of the suspect (O.J.) at the scene of the crime. Implicative reasoning was that O. J. was a patient of

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Growth as grotesque Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Growth as grotesque - Essay Example There are many ways in which an object may be grotesque; however, all of these ways stem from the fact that the very thing that makes an object grotesque is the fact that there is something about the object that clashes with our perceived ideas of normality: â€Å"While consistency of grotesque forms is clearly not to be had, certain elements seem to appear more frequently than others† (462). Inherent in this is the idea that the grotesque’s existence is dependent upon the existence of so-called â€Å"normality.† In other words, the grotesque cannot exist without normalcy. In this way the grotesque can be viewed as an outgrowth or extension of that which is considered to be normal. All of the ensuing works present aspects that illustrate an augmentation of a pure form; that is, they contain subject matter that is anomalous to what is considered a normal state of existence of the given subject. All of the images initially appear as out of the ordinary, possibly even freakish in that they obviously lie outside any perceptions of normal aspects of their existence, yet upon a more scrutinized look, remain in a standard setting which would be part of our standard association with typical and conventional forms of our understanding of reality and the everyday. This feature catches us off guard and disturbs us in the same way any alteration of ones usual expectations does. An unexpected downpour of rain, the unpredictability of the stock market, even such a mundane situation as a friend showing up at your door unexpectedly, all cause us fear and anxiety in that they twist our usual expectations of the established convention of the flow of life. Equally important are the intricate details of what embodies such unassumed forms, bastard forms on a pure surface. It is this feeling, a certain ambivalent sense of push as well as pull. It is at times disturbing, yet simultaneously comforting. It is anxiety and serenity, like a sickness working its toils within the

Friday, August 23, 2019

Global War on Terrorism Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Global War on Terrorism - Assignment Example The author of the paper states that the war on terrorism officially started after the 9/11 attacks on the US soil although earlier attacks on US embassies in Kenya, Tanzania and the attempted bombing of the Los Angeles international airport were alarming. The then president, George Bush took the initiative and claimed to fight the war on terrorism on behalf of the whole world. Following the invasions of Afghanistan in 2001 and then targetting Iraq in 2003, NATO forces have been involved in all operations as the attacks of 9/11 were considered an attack on all the 19 member countries of NATO. A very active participant of this war has been Pakistan which has been supporting the US on the matter and fighting against terrorists by allowing US forces along with their own army to carry operations in parts of Waziristan(northern Pakistani territory). Due to this war countries have the highest budget allocated to defense. This is all the taxpayer money we are talking about, which is you, me and us. Do we want to allocate our resources on just fighting terrorists in a war which never seems to end? Do we want to see innocent people being killed like in the case of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan? Do we want this amount of destruction, chaos, and insecurity? Of course, the answer to all of those questions would be no. I refuse to agree with the idea of the global war on terrorism. This war has been a total failure increasing the number of killings, the use of weaponry globally and the doubt in the minds of people if they are being ruled by cruel, self-centered and power hungry leaders.W hat seems to be the idea of the general masses is that the war on terrorism is being used to achieve Uthe S driven goals as it keeps on attacking and killing more and more without eliminating the Taliban forces.T his war has been so much hyped about by the media that it has become part of the headlines of every news channel in the world. The US has gone so far to fight the war that it has created a torture facility in Cuba with the name of 'Guantanamo Bay' which initially held the prisoners of war from Afghanistan and Iraq.  Prisoners are subject to the highest degree of torture from physical remand like electric shocks to psychological abuse, including religious insults such as the Quran being kicked on the ground.M ost of the prisoners kept in this place have been proven innocent but their lives shackled. The war shows the US interest in the oil-rich countries to obtain unhindered sources of oil.T his war is the war being fought by Uthe S alone without the support of the UN, which is the council representing the whole world. If UN does not support the global war on terrorism it is unfair and unjustified for this war to continue as it keeps on creating more and more problems for the whole world(Balken,2005).T the number of bombings and the technology being used by the terrorists is rising sharply,showing signs that this is a never-ending war which will just keep o n causing harm to the environment, the psyche of the people, the insecurity among countries(international relations) and causing unwanted bloodshed and violence(Hancock,2008). The resources of the whole world are being heavily used in a cat and mouse race with a heavy cost of living. Increased expenditures for the global war may come at the expense of consumption expenditures, the classic guns-butter trade-off. These expenditures could come at the expense of outlays for investment, including business fixed investment, residential construction, infrastructure, public and private expenditures on health and education, the primary human capital categories, and research and development(Goldsmith,2007).  

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Quality management focuses attention on continuous improvement Essay Example for Free

Quality management focuses attention on continuous improvement Essay Th e work of W. Edwards Deming is a cornerstone of the quality movement in management. 27 His story began in 1951, when he was invited to Japan to explain quality control techniques that had been developed in the United States. â€Å"When Deming spoke,† we might say, â€Å"the Japanese listened. † Th e principles he taught the Japanese were straightforward, and they worked: Tally defects, analyze and trace them to the source, make corrections, and keep a record of what happens afterward. Deming’s approach to quality emphasizes constant innovation, use of statistical methods, and commitment to training in the fundamentals of quality assurance. One outgrowth of Deming’s work was the emergence of total quality management, or TQM. Th is process makes quality principles part of the organization’s strategic objectives, applying them to all aspects of operations and striving to meet customers’ needs by doing things right the fi rst time. Most TQM approaches begin with an insistence that the total quality commitment applies to everyone in an organization, from resource acquisition and supply chain management, through production and into the distribution of fi nished goods and services, and ultimately to customer relationship management. The search for and commitment to quality is now tied to the emphasis modern management gives to the notion of continuous improvement—always looking for new ways to improve on current performance. 29 Th e goal is that one can never be satisfi ed; something always can and should be improved upon. Evidence-based management seeks hard facts about what really works. Looking back on the historical foundations of management, one thing that stands out is criticism by today’s scholars of the scientifi c rigor of some historical cornerstones, among them Taylor’s scientifi c management approach and the Hawthorne studies. The worry is that we may be too quick in accepting as factual the results of studies that are based on weak or even shoddy empirical evidence. And if the studies are fl awed, perhaps more care needs to be exercised when trying to apply their insights to improve management practices. Th is problem isn’t limited to the distant past. 30 A book by Jim Collins, Good to Great, achieved great acclaim and best-seller status for its depiction of highly successful organizations. But Collins’s methods and fi ndings have since been criticized by researchers. 32 And after problems appeared at many fi rms previously considered by him to be â€Å"great,† he wrote a follow-up book called How the Mighty Fall. 33 Th e point here is not to discredit what keen observers of management practice like Collins and others report. But it is meant to make you cautious and a bit skeptical when it comes to separating fads from facts and conjecture from informed insight. Today’s management scholars are trying to move beyond generalized impressions of excellence to understand more empirically the characteristics of high-performance organizations—ones that consistently achieve highperformance results while also creating high quality-of-work-life environments for their employees. Following this line of thinking, Jeff rey Pfeff er and Robert Sutton make the case for evidence-based management, or EBM. Th is is the process of making management decisions on â€Å"hard facts†Ã¢â‚¬â€that is, about what really works—rather than on â€Å"dangerous half-truths†Ã¢â‚¬â€things that sound good but lack empirical substantiation. Using data from a sample of some 1,000 fi rms, for example, Pfeff er and a colleague found that fi rms using a mix of well selected human resource management practices had more sales and higher profi ts per employee than those that didn’t. 35 Th ose practices included employment security, selective hiring, self-managed teams, high wages based on performance merit, training and skill development, minimal status diff erences, and shared information. Examples of other EBM fi ndings include challenging goals accepted by an employee are likely to result in high performance, and that unstructured employment interviews are unlikely to result in the best person being hired to fi ll a vacant position. 36 Scholars pursue a variety of solid empirical studies using proven scientifi c methods in many areas of management research. Some carve out new and innovative territories, while others build upon and extend knowledge that has come down through the history of management thought. By staying abreast of such

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Strategy of Corporate Social Responsibility Essay Example for Free

Strategy of Corporate Social Responsibility Essay We all know that profit an enterprise earns is not only made by itself, but also by a result of the interaction between consumers, politics and the society environment of the enterprise being at. If an enterprise wants to operate in the long run, it needs to be concerned about the problem of its surrounding environment. Also, only a corporation which can shoulder responsibilities of society and obey the rule of ethic deserves to obtain support from the society. In this essay, I am going to discuss about whether if the strategy of Corporate Social Responsibility is relevant. The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), like ethics, is easy to understand: it means distinguish right from wrong, and doing right. It means being a good corporate citizen. The formal definition of social responsibility is management’s obligation to make choices and take actions that will contribute to the welfare and interests of society as well as the organization (Szwajkowski, 1986: Davis et al., 1979). CSR is a kind of philosophic conception, it does not have tangible executive criteria and rules. A lack of the spirit of CSR, we cannot find the meaning and reputation of why this enterprise exists. Companies and people need profounder meaning of exist. Nowadays, CSR strategy is overall acceptable by the managers of every enterprise. However, there are numerous of people have been arguing about their different beliefs, many of the experts debate about CSR. Milton Friedman and others have argued that a corporations purpose is to maximize returns to its shareholders, and that since (in their view), only people can have social responsibilities, corporations are only responsible to their shareholders and not to society as a whole. Milton Friedman have pointed out this in his book, Capitalism and Freedom: There is one and only one social responsibility of business to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud (Friedman, 1962). Most of the managers and laws supported this concept in the early days. â€Å"Only people can h ave responsibilities. A corporation is an artificial person and in this sense may have artificial responsibilities, but ‘business’ as a whole cannot be said to have responsibilities, even in this vague sense†. (Friedman, 1970) In addition, in the 1996 speech of Roger Kerr, the argument that â€Å"the activities of private business are socially beneficial so long as they are  conducted under the rule of law and within a framework of open competition. When subjected to those disciplines, business by and large promotes its interests in a way that promotes the interests of the whole community, and, moreover, promotes the community interest more efficiently and reliably than any other economic arrangement.†(Kerr, 1996) If the corporate business take too much responsibility of society, then Basically, the function of an enterprise organisation is to create profit, and government should solve the problem of society by the taxes it imposes. I wonder if the more responsibility the enterprises take, then there are no much differences between an enterprise and government, moreover the enterprise will end up being a monopolizing organisation. On the other hand, R J Hubbard presents a different point of view from Milton Friedman and Roger Kerr. â€Å"shareholders aren’t the only group of people that have a stake in the success of a company and that other stakeholders are employees, customers, suppliers.†(Hubbard,1996) And â€Å"business owners and business managers should try and reconcile the interests of the various stakeholders.† (Hubbard,1996) â€Å"as shareholders in a company one gets certain privileges from society as delivered through government.† â€Å"limited liability, the ability to earn a dollar over and above that of the average wage or salary earner and a host of other benefits.† Thus, â€Å"one should not only receive these privileges but also give back to the society that has made them available.†(Hubbard, 1996) The social responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that society has of organizations at a given point in time. (Carroll, 1979) To sum up, I consider Corporate Social Responsibility to be a sensible strategy. But we should not solely put emphasis on CSR without considering business’s goal of maximizing profit. CSR will be desirable if corporate increase its profit though such conduct and society as a whole is the beneficiary. Nevertheless, how much responsibility should a corporate burden with? This is a constantly difficult problem to grasp. To a corporate, it should evaluate capacity itself and balance the benefits inner and outer before taking certain responsibilities. Word count : 769 Reference List Friedman, M. (2002) Capitalism and Freedom. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Hubbard, R J. (1996)The business of business is not just business Samson, D., Daft, R L. (2003)Management South Melbourne, Victoria

How Apple Incs Strategy Is Affected After Globalization Economics Essay

How Apple Incs Strategy Is Affected After Globalization Economics Essay In this twenty first century, globalisation has an impact in every economy. World of today is considered to be united as a bunch countries with no boundaries. Raw materials from different countries are being processed in another country to manufacture goods products are being marketed in another country. It is the modern concept of the globalisation. A company goes international for so many reasons like, small domestic market, adverse government policy in home country, high demand of the product in foreign market etc. FDI across the globe had a fixed upswing with a sharp growth in the second quarter of 2008. Even it was not affected so much by financial crisis during recession in 2008. FDI is mainly originated from the advanced economy like USA.[ Peter Dicken] In this essay we have chosen famous electronic gadget manufacturer APPLE as our company, which is mainly based in USA, has expanded its production unit in EUROPE and ASIA. It is manly famous for introduction of a new age in mobile phone industry by brining iPHONE MACBOOK in pc section. Recently they have launched iPAD in the market which turn to be a great success. How their strategy has been affected when they go global by the main three factors (1.Technology.2.geography.3.goverment policies ) has been described below. TECHNOLOGY: For a product to become more acceptable by quality, implied technology of production plays an important role. Foreign direct investment prospects can be propelled to a new level if the quality of production can be retained in a cost effective manner. Hence, investment opportunity of a country is significantly influenced by its internal development, technology and growth. These intrinsic developments are always in the lamplight of MNCs and are effectively made use by them. Apple has met its investment prospects in China as this country maintains the unique work quality in assembling the inputs for final production. As a part of corporate global strategy, company has given outsourcing more importance at the same time imparting mandate high control over product integrity. When apple produce iPods in China, it is not produced in a factory owned by Apple. It is been contracted with third party to produce IPods with the specifications Apple provides. Moreover from outsourcing, Apple is sourcing quality products for assemblage from foreign countries and some even from China itself by fragmenting its supply chain very effectively. The standard of factors of production is set to meet the requirements set by Apple Inc. If the company is not successful in monitoring the strategy which is being implemented in a country, it will eventually destroy companys reputation. The subtle implementation of internationalisation strategy is been spawned in such a way that Apple products are leveraged to its maximum utility. For leveraging the products to its maximum levels, sophisticated research and development is being carried out through international investments and intrinsic ground-breaking technologies. Trade theory gives light by how much proportions the various factors of inputs needed at each stage of a production process, together with various inputs at comparative costs, influencing the investment proposal. As technology is one of the important input of production, while framing up an international strategy it has to be dealt well while investing in a foreign country. The comparative cost of the technology brought forth for production is very significant as it contributes to the international pricing strategy. The quality technology which is been generated in China holds cost advantage when it is compared to the same technology implemented in US. Advanced technology is pioneer to production of any innovative products but this technology has to be accessed in a cost effective manner to produce competitively priced product. Skilled labour is another requisite which should be considered in quality production. High cost of labour in United States of America can be a down beating fa ctor in home country which can be eliminated through foreign direct investment. Hence, advantage is been derived in the host country in terms of technology implementation through skilled labour force at low cost. Apple Incs business establishment in China is a subtle example for their tactical part in internationalisation strategy. GEOGRAPHY: The geographical dispersion means that companys activities are not concentrated to a single country rather it is dispersed between different countries. The production in foreign country can be commenced in two ways namely Merges acquisition and Greenfield investment. Greenfield investment means setting up a new plant and physical assets in the foreign country whereas Merges acquisition means merging with a foreign firm or buying existing assets in a foreign country. The cost of geographical dispersion can be of three types which is firm level, plant level and the economies of integration foregone. Almost 54% companys geographical market place is situated in United States. Final assembly of companys product is mainly done in Ireland by external vendors in California, Texas, China, Korea, etc. Manufacturing supply of many critical components is executed by sole sourced third party vendors from Taiwan, Germany, US, Germany, Korea, Netherlands etc. But main assembly part is done in China by sole sourced third party vendors. That means its production input has been divided into sub category situated in different countries. So it is an example of centralized vertical Foreign Direct investment by apple where its headquartering is situated in US. The benefit of geographical dispersion for the company is that, it is able to reduce the cost of primary input as the price for inputs varies in different locations. It also helps the company to lower operating cost and reduces the companys direct control over the production and distribution. This also helps in lowering the trade cost and enables it to capture the markets. For example, the investment decision to manufacture the products from China helps the company to have a better control over the Asian markets. Also the cost incurred in exporting the products from United States to Asian market is much lower when it is from China. The firm also enjoys economies of scale as the cost of production is less due the dispersion and the company is able to employ skilled and cheap labor. In spite of its benefits, its uncertain what negative effects will this have on the company. The diminished operational control may have an effect on the quality of the products or services or its flexibility to respond to changes. This may adversely affect the reputation of the company. Another problem is that, if the manufacturing or providing logistical services in the other country is disturbed for any causes like natural disaster, war, political issues, public health, failure in information technology system, financial crises may materially affect the companys financial condition and operation. GOVERNMENT POLICIES: The vertical foreign direct investment strategy of Apple is advantageously and manifestly framed up by the influence of political environment or trade policies that operate within the country. The supply chain is fragmented and for assemblage, the Apples input commodities are sourced from special enterprise zones of China where much of import duties and taxes are waived. The government trade policy influences the intricate supply chain management and outsourcing of the company. Apple being an American multinational propels a strategy that insulates itself from foreign exchange risks. The price the company has to pay for a specific input item in a specific country is influenced by the exchange rates of currencies at the time. The company exhibits a pattern of a good net receiver of currencies except the American dollar. As the US dollars gains strength, it will negatively affect the Apples net sales and gross margin articulated in American dollars. Financial innovations are spawned by the international financial flows. The financial innovations are greatly influenced by the monetary and fiscal policy of a government. This level of influence determines the stability of economic performance. As US government tends to maintain very low interest rates to support the demand for housing and promoting the revival of building industry, international capital flows are possible. It may result in more capital outflows and a weaker dollar. An immediate effect can be not iced in the US output as a result of more US exports. Thus for Apple, weaker dollar gives more euro earning and allows it to state an elevated profit rate to it stakeholders. [Linden 2008] Many financial innovations are spawned out from the introduction of capital flows. There is an economic significance of international financial instruments like forwards or options when Apple deals with it. July 2008 Company reports stated that the Apple inc was willing to enter into forward and option dealings of foreign currencies. This also included some strategically committed transactions, the investment company possessed in foreign subsidiaries, forecasted future cash flows etc. Evidently, practice of the company was to hedge a large number of its material foreign exchange exposures for some months. [Apple inc, 2008] The progression of this model imparts light into the strategy framed up by Apple in tackling the effect of rising prices too. A developing country like China has remarkable success in controlling the inflation. Apple has a peculiar stake in China where country exhibits success in managing its economy from extreme pressures and creating higher inflation rates. Chinese central bank put forward a straight policy in framing up the exchange rates. Till July 2005, the policy upheld was to fix the rate it levied to exchange Chinese currencies for American dollars. In this context, Apple could assertively forecast the exchange rates weeks in advance. [Apple inc, 2005] Apple endeavours to do outsourcing in the country where there is minimal legal regulations as they can maximise their profits. As the operations are mainly concentrated in China, Apple Company has got relaxation from heavy tax burdens. Vertical specialisation with internalisation keeps the production cost low at the same time company benefits from low trade cost. The company is getting more and more innovative by research and development. Proper caution is taken as the economy breeds the risk of a global financial downturn that could have disastrous effect in their business. At last , after analysing the all the factors that affects companys internationalisation foreign direct investment we can conclude Apple is truly globalised . That means it has stretched its corporate arms in such a way that we can say that for Apple the difference across countries does not matter. They have fragmented their production parts across countries sell its products all most around the world just to take the benefit of the internationalisation globalised concept. Their main strategy is to take advantage from different counties favourable condition that helps their business to gain more revenue using economics of scale. As we have discussed the main reason of their expansion of business in China are cheap labour costs, higher productivity of Chinese labour output huge demand of Asian market. They also want to take benefit from the exchange rate investment friendly government policy. It is proved from their establishment of unit in China Ireland. Their well organized gl obalised business strategy has helped them to spread their products world wide almost in every country, which is much more appreciated from the point of view of internationalisation of a company. In every of their business strategy the concept of true globalised company can be visualised.[ Peter Dicken]

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Prejudice- Right or Wrong? :: Free Essay Writer

Prejudice- Right or Wrong? Prejudice and racism are two major issues that many people have to deal with in their lifetime. It can effect many different people in many different ways. Various thoughts and feelings are shown in the novel â€Å"To Kill A Mockingbird† by Harper Lee, which shows a small but a very racist town towards coloured people. In the book they convict a black, Tom Robinson, of doing something we know he didn’t do but this was down to a white jury. The book shows and puts across the true way in which the world works. It shows real life situations that any of us could be in, for instance the Tom Robinson case. Many of the characters are realistic in the way they react to Atticus supporting the blacks and the way they discriminate them as many people, even today, have done the same. The characters Jem and Scout, put forward the child’s point of view. This view, however is still quite bigoted. The reason being is that they come from a background who have lived with a black and have never categorized them in any way. So they believe, due to Atticus fighting the case, that Tom Robinson is innocent and also try to take it into their own hands, by following Atticus down to the jail house one night for example, which not all people would do as everyone has their own opinion but this is a very good point in the book to show the way in which people react and live with the situation. Racism has been a steady problem all through time. One of the most troublesome areas of racism is in places of education. Finding a cure for this would be a major step towards ending racism in general. No one has ever thought of a solution yet, so racism will be as strong for as long as there isn't one. For example, In the 1960's, the governor of Alabama, George Wallace, was a militant supporter of segregation. In 1963 two blacks, Vivian Jones and James Hood, sought admission to the traditionally segregated University of Alabama. According to legislation at the time, they had every right to go there; but since the governor was so anti-black and pro segregation, he didn't like it one bit. As the two black students prepared to enter the college, George Wallace stood in the doorway blocking their way, addressing the need for segregation. He refused to move, so the national guard was called in to restore order and admit Jones and Hood to the University of Alabama. This was an important moment in black

Monday, August 19, 2019

The Nike Essay -- Greek Greece Symbolism History Athletics Essays

The Nike A Greek would say, "When we go to battle and win, we say it is Nike." According to Greek Mythology, The Nike was the winged goddess of victory. Daughter of the titan Pallas and the river Styx, Nike sat at the side of the omnipotent Zeus for the duration of his plight with the titans. The goddess Nike came to be an everlasting symbol of victory and dominance on the battlefields of ancient Greece. In light of her conquests, a popular footwear company of the 20th century designed products in her name to push new levels of achievement in athletes worldwide. The Swoosh logo at the side of each shoe is intended to represent the wing of the Greek Goddess Nike. The vibrant spirit of this ancient goddess has bridged the gap between ancient mythology and modern technology, and manifested itself through the most successful shoe company of all time. The Nike of Samothrace captures the essence of the goddess in a dramatic pose. Her body leans forward as her robust wings heave upwards, creating a magnificent balance and sense of motion. Recovered in the Sanctuary of the Great Gods by a French explorer in 1863, the statue stands 8 feet tall. The deep lines and contrasting textures of the feathers, fabric, and skin allude to the elegance of past Greek style. Of all similar remains from ancient Greek art, this famous Hellenistic sculpture best reflects the sense of pride, honor, and victory associated with the goddess. The Swoosh logo was created by Caroline Davidson in 1971. Davidson was asked by Phil Knight, co-founder of Nike, to create a logo that could be placed on the side of the shoe. She gave him the Swoosh, and he in return gave her $35.00. When the Swoosh is inverted and placed next to the wing of The Nike of Samoth... ...oddess of victory, a company of highest ideal was born. As depicted in The Nike of Samothorace and Nike Adjusting Her Sandal, honor and achievement were of highest importance to the Ancient Greeks. The victory Nike brought the Greeks in the war with the titans is analogous to the victories our athletes bring us in the Olympic games. The vibrant spirit of the ancient goddess has bridged the gap between centuries, and proved itself as the paramount shoe company. The Nike Swoosh embodies the vitality of the winged goddess who brought inspiration to the most courageous and chivalrous warriors at the dawn of civilization . Bibliography Stokstad, Marilyn, Volume One Art History. Prentice Hall, and Harry Abrams Inc., 1995. The History of Nike, http://www-personal.engin.edu/~jhwiii/nikehist.html alt.culture:Nike, http://www.altculture.com/site/entries/nike.html